In surgical procedures, in order to get a close-up or magnified view of an operative site on a patient, there are two options available to the surgeon. One option is to wear surgical loupes, which are special glasses that have magnification lenses mounted thereon. However, there are numerous ergonomic problems with surgical loupes. The lenses add significant weight to the glasses, causing it to push down against the surgeon's nose and cheeks, and also causing the glasses to slide down the bridge of the nose. Moreover, because of the fixed angle of the lenses, the surgeon must often hunch over the operative site.
Another option is to use a surgical microscope, which is positioned over the surgical field. By viewing through the microscope eyepieces, the surgeon has a close-up or magnified view of the surgical field. However, this has its own ergonomic problems as well. The surgeon must maintain an awkward posture to peer through the eyepiece, which can cause back and neck fatigue. Also, constantly viewing through a binocular microscope can cause eyestrain. In summary, these prior art techniques for performing microsurgery can be very uncomfortable to the surgeon, causing them to suffer from neck strain, back strain, and eye fatigue.